Our Staff

Monterey Bay GI Consultants Medical Group, Inc.

All our physicians are Board Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Gastroenterology. Each physician completed a rigorous Gastroenterology Fellowship. Additionally, each received dedicated training in endoscopy (upper endoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy). Endoscopy is the use of narrow, flexible lighted tubes with built-in video cameras, to visualize the inside of the intestinal tract. They are trained to perform advanced endoscopic procedures such as polypectomy, esophageal and intestinal dilation, endoscopic biliary examination (ERCP), removal of tumors without surgery, placement of internal drainage tubes (stents) and hemostasis. They properly interpret the findings and biopsy results of these studies in order to make appropriate recommendations to treat conditions and/or prevent cancer.

Our Gastroenterologists

The unique training that our Gastroenterologist received prepared them to provide the highest quality comprehensive care for patients with a wide variety of gastrointestinal ailments. Our physicians are experts in their field. They have many years of experience in practice.

DANIEL G. LUBA, M.D.

Dr. Luba was accepted into medical school immediately after high school graduation and completed a combined six-year undergraduate and medical school program at Boston University Medical School, where he received the Henry J. Bakst VA Award in Community Medicine. He did his Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine as Boston VA Medical Center in Boston, MA. Dr. Luba then moved to California and completed a Fellowship in Gastroenterology at Stanford University Medical Center. He is Board Certified in Gastroenterology. Dr. Luba is the managing partner of Gastroenterology Consultants Medical Group, Inc., Medical Director of the Monterey Bay Endoscopy Center, LLC, and the President of the Monterey Bay GI Research Institute, Inc. For the years 2007-2013 Dr. Luba was selected by Best Doctors as one of the Best Doctors in America, an organization that selects its members through the peer-appointed process. Dr. Luba does all endoscopic procedures and has a special interest in Lynch and Familial Polyposis Syndromes. He is the founder of Project DNA at www.theprojectdna.com

Dr. Luba sees patients in the Salinas and Monterey Offices.

LLOYD R. GARREN, M.D.

The Medical College of Pennsylvania was home to Dr. Garren for many years. While at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, he completed his M.D. as well as an Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine and a Fellowship in Gastroenterology. Dr. Garren is Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology and in an accomplished inventor of gastrointestinal devices. Dr. Lloyd Garren has been practicing Gastroenterology since 1977.

Dr. Garren sees patients in our Monterey Office.

RICHARD W. HELL, M.D.

After finishing medical school as Saint Louis University, Dr. Hell completed an Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center/U.C.L.A. He did his Fellowship in Gastroenterology at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is Board Certified in Gastroenterology. He has practiced with Monterey Bay GI Consultants since 2001. In 2010, Dr. Hell was elected to Fellowship in the American College of Gastroenterology. He has served as Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP). He also serves on the hospital’s Medical Executive Committee.

Dr. Hell sees patients in our Monterey Office.

KATHRYN A. SWANSON, M.D.

Dr. Swanson completed her medical school education with an M.D. from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. She went on to complete an Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine as the University of California, San Francisco and subsequently finished a 3-year Academic Gastroenterology and Therapeutic Endoscopy Fellowship at Stanford University Medical Center. She is Board Certified in Gastroenterology. Dr. Swanson practiced in Palo Alto from 1997 to 2001 when she joined Monterey Bay GI Consultants Medical Group. Dr. Swanson was nominated by her peers as one of the Best Doctors in America for 2009-2010.

Dr. Swanson sees patients in our Monterey Office.

ISABELLE C. BARNARD, M.D.

Dr. Barnard received her B.A. in Human Biology as Stanford University. She earned her medical degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and was awarded membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. She completed her internship and Residency in Internal Medicine, as well as a 3-year Fellowship in Gastroenterology, at Stanford University Medical Center. She is Board Certified, by the American Board of Internal Medicine, in Gastroenterology. Dr. Barnard practiced in Salinas from 1997 to 2003 when she joined Monterey Bay GI Consultants.

Dr. Barnard sees patients in our Monterey Office.

TOBY KATZ, M.D.

Dr. Katz is a graduate of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. He completed his Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at Cedars-Sinai/U.C.L.A. Medical Center Los Angeles. Dr. Katz was elected Chief resident at Cedar Sinai Medical Center while holding the position of Assistant Clinical Instructor of Medicine at U.C.L.A. Dr. Katz completed his Gastroenterology Fellowship at LA County-USC Medical Center and, subsequently, completed Therapeutic ERCP and advanced endoscopic training. He is Board Certified in Gastroenterology and Obesity Medicine. Dr. Katz practiced in Salinas from 1995-2003 and joined Monterey Bay GI Consultants in 2003. Dr. Katz is fluent in Spanish.

Dr. Katz sees patients in the Salinas and Monterey Offices.

MICHAEL S. LE, M.D.

Dr. Le earned his B.A. Degree at the University of Virginia and his M.D. at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He completed a Residency in Internal Medicine at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas and a Fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dr. Le is Board Certified in Gastroenterology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is trained in ERCP and US-guided liver biopsies. Dr. Le is conversant in Vietnamese and Spanish. Dr. Le joined Monterey Bay GI Consultants in 2010.

Dr. Le sees patients in the Salinas and Monterey Offices

MICHAEL J. MENDOZA, M.D.

Dr. Mendoza received his B.S. in Biology and M.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles where he also performed basic science research in Oncology as well as contributed to care for underserved populations in Los Angeles for which he was awarded the UCLA Chancellor’s Humanitarian Award for Community Service. He completed a Residency in Internal Medicine at UCLA in 2002. He completed a research-based Gastroenterology fellowship in Molecular and Medical Pharmacology evaluating pancreatic cancer in 2007. After three years of successful clinical Gastroenterology practice at Kaiser Permanente in Riverside, California, Dr. Mendoza returned to UCLA as a Clinical Instructor where he finished an Advanced Interventional Endoscopy Fellowship in Endoscopic Ultrasound, Oncologic Endoscopy and Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in June 2012. Dr. Mendoza joined Monterey Bay GI Consultants in 2012.

Dr. Mendoza sees patients in the Salinas and Monterey Offices

JAN P. KAMLER, M.D.

Dr. Kamler joined our practice September 2, 2015, after a very successful Gastroenterology private practice in Reno for 15 years. He completed his Fellowship in 2001 at the University of California School of Medicine in San Diego, California. He completed a Residency in International Medicine Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Kamler grew up in the Czech Republic and earned his medical degree there. Dr. Kamler is Board Certified and has a special interest in managing the treatment of patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Barrett’s Disease, and Hemorrhoids. Dr. Kamler was once also a Registered Nurse at the Monterey Bay Endoscopy Center and he is joyfully returning to live in Monterey. He enjoys hiking, biking, and skiing. Dr. Kamler speaks English, Czech, and Russian.

Dr. Kamler sees patients in our Monterey Office.

JEFFREY P. FIORENZA, M.D.

Dr. Fiorenza earned a B.A. degree in Public Health Studies from The Johns Hopkins University and remained in Baltimore to graduate from The John Hopkins University School of Medicine with Alpha Omega Alpha honors. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. Following a year of working as a hospitalist at Brigham and Women's, he went on to finish his Fellowship in Gastroenterology at Lahey Hospital and Medical center in Burlington, Massachusetts. In his free time, Dr. Fiorenza enjoys playing soccer and golf and traveling with his family. He joined Monterey Bay GI Consultants in 2016. Dr. Fiorenza is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Gastroenterology.

Dr. Fiorenza sees patients in the Salinas and Monterey Offices

CYNTHIA RUSSELL-McCLAIN, N.P.P.A.

Cindi is both a Nurse Practitioner and a Physician Assistant. Educated at Stanford University and the University of California at Santa Cruz. Cindi has been a spokesperson for Schering-Plough Corporation and has won Congressional/National awards for her work. She has practiced in our area since 1993 and joined Monterey Bay GI Consultants Medical Group in 2007. Cindi performs many of the pre-assessment physical examinations for our physicians. She has a special expertise in the management of patients with Hepatitis. She also performs screening for hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome with DNA testing.

Cindi sees patients in our Monterey Office.

SILVIA GIACHETTI, N.P.

Silvia holds a B.S. Degree in Nursing from Florida International University and a M.S. Degree in Nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Samuel Merritt University. Silvia earned a wide range of experience as a Registered Nurse before becoming a Nurse Practitioner. She worked as the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula for four years as a nurse analyst in Health Information Technology. She also has many years of experience as an Infertility and Third Party Reproduction Nurse and Pediatric Nurse. Besides English, Silvia is fluent in Spanish and proficient in German, French, and Korean.